Ford to unveil Fiesta successor at mobile show

Ford is betting the ranch on small cars (the Focus is its first ‘world’ model since the Model T) and it’s taking the unusual step of unveiling its likely successor to the smaller Fiesta, the B-MAX, at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona on February 27.

The car was expected to make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March but Ford evidently thinks that technology is where it’s at in car marketing today so why not ride on the coattails of technology of the moment, mobile?

Ford Europe CEO Stephen Odell says: “B-MAX will raise the bar for small vehicles in Europe, combining technology and premium engineering into a compact frame.” The choice of the B-MAX name is interesting too; Ford’s Focus variant the C-MAX mini-people mover has proved a huge success, becoming a brand in its own right.

The new car will increase the pressure on Volkswagen which currently dominates the ‘small cars plus’ sector with the Golf. VW took over from Toyota as the world’s biggest volume car manufacturer in 2011 as the Japanese giant was hit by supply chain problems and a number of recalls.